


Sealed Darkness

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Stingue [7]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Choices, Darkness, Established Relationship, Guilt, Heavy Angst, Lies, Loss, Loss of Control, M/M, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-12 17:32:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17471900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Sting has always been the one to rein in the shadows, to bring Rogue out of the darkness, but there was always going to come a day when that wasn't enough.





	Sealed Darkness

 

“You’ll be okay.”

     That was the first thing that Sting had said to him when he’d woken in the guild’s infirmary. It was the same thing the blond said to him every time he was ill and injured, those simple words always reassuring both of them that the Shadow Dragon-slayer was going to be fine. It didn’t matter if he actually needed to spend a few days in bed, or if it had been a near miss that could very easily have been ‘not okay’, as long as those words were said, everything would work out. It didn’t matter if Sting was crying, a frequent occurrence, especially in those nearly ‘not okay’ situations. If he was furious, blue eyes blazing and magic crackling around his fists as it did whenever Rogue had done something reckless, or whether he had the warm smile on his lips that never failed to cause butterflies in Rogue’s stomach. None of that mattered as long as those words were spoken.

   At that moment Rogue didn’t feel okay, or like he would be okay any time soon. His entire body was a mass of pain, the slightest movement, even the simple act of breathing was enough to send flashes of agony through him, and he found himself having to bite back a whimper of pain. However, that was nothing compared to the heavy weight curling around his chest. He had lost control of the shadows, of himself. His memories of what had happened were somewhat hazy, the only clear image he had was of the blinding white light that had eventually driven them away and the frightened blue eyes as Sting had fought to prevent him slipping away with them. But he had lost control. It was the thing that he had feared the most since the Grand Magic games, since learning what his future-self had been capable of, and while he had come back to himself, he wasn’t sure he could forgive himself for that weakness.

“Did I hurt anyone?” _Did I hurt you?_  He knew it was a selfish thought, but he knew that the while the idea of hurting anyone was painful, he might eventually be able to accept what he had done. But if it was Sting, if it was his mate…

“No,” Sting reassured him softly, reaching out to grasp his hand and while Rogue was relieved for the gentleness even though even that touch had him fighting back a whimper, he couldn’t help but frown. No matter how hurt he was it was practically impossible for the other Dragon-slayer to control his enthusiasm, and usually, by now, he would have been yanked into a bear hug.  “You caused one hell of a mess, but you’re the only one…injured.” He nearly missed the brief hesitation in his mate’s words, and he might well have if it wasn’t for the fact that Sting didn’t seem able to meet his gaze as he spoke. _What’s going on?_

“Sting?”

“It’s nothing,” Sting replied hastily, brushing aside his concern and this time he actually met Rogue’s gaze as he added softly. “You had me worried that’s all.” There was no lie in his eyes this time, and the Shadow Dragon-slayer grimaced slightly before nodding his head, he still wasn’t convinced, but he was distracted by the thought of Sting sitting beside him and worrying about him.

“Sorry…” He whispered.

“It’s not your fault,” Sting had said those words plenty of times before, but there was a strange forcefulness behind them this time. As though he was trying to convince himself as much as Rogue, and the Shadow mage felt an uneasy feeling stirring in his stomach. _He’s lying, why is he lying?_ He could count on one hand the number of times the blond had lied to him, and that had always either been either because he was planning a surprise because he loved being romantic, even though he had a tendency to give the game away in his excitement. Or because he had done something foolish, like the time he had managed to mix Rogue’s trousers in with Frosch’s frog suit staining them a rather alarming shade of pink and tried to blame it on the Exceed.

“What is going on?” It would have helped if he didn’t sound like he was about to fall asleep at any moment, but he put as much strength behind the glare he shot at his mate as possible and held it, watching as the blonde paled and squirmed like a guilty child. “Sting…?”

“I…”

“Sting, please it can’t be worse than what I’m imagining!” _I hope,_ he added silently, his thoughts straying too much darker thoughts. Thoughts fuelled by numerous nightmares in the past where he had lost himself to the shadows and destroyed everything and everyone around him, and he paled suddenly, as it occurred to him what the other Dragon-slayer had said. _“You’re the only one…injured.’_ A chill swept over him, and he swallowed convulsively, struggling to get his voice to work again, and when it did it came out as little more than a strangled whisper. “Sting, did I kill someone?”

“What? No! NO!” Sting shook his head vehemently, looking directly at Rogue so that he could see that he was telling the truth and the Shadow mage felt something easing in his chest, and his eyes were stinging fiercely as he closed them for a moment. _I’m not a murderer…_ However, his relief was short-lived, and he found himself tensing as the other Dragon-slayer let out a soft sigh, and his eyes snapped open once more at his mate’s next words. “It was close though…”

“Who…?”

“Some of the Rune Knights that tried to interfere when they realised what was happening,” Sting admitted with a sigh, holding up a hand to stall the worried protest that was about to escape, and Rogue choked them back, staring incredulously at the blond. _That isn’t a good thing…_ Since they’d taken to emulating Fairy Tail, they’d had more than one run in with the Council, and this certainly wasn’t going to help their case. However, Sting didn’t look or sound too concerned about it as he continued.  “It was their own fault for rushing in, especially as we told them that we had it under control…more or less.”

“But…” Rogue was simultaneously relieved that Sting wasn’t blaming him, especially as it was the blond that would have to deal with any paperwork that came from this, and horror at the thought that he had been so far gone that he had gone against the council. _I could have really screwed things up for the guild._ “I…”

“You didn’t even manage to injure them so don’t worry about it,” Sting cut across him shrugging dismissively. They had all long since discovered that their new Master had little patience for the Council and their rules, so Rogue knew that he wasn’t pretending at this stage. _But…_

“So what are you hiding?” He asked quietly, catching the flinch that met his question and guessing that the other Dragon-slayer had hoped that he was going to let it drop. Sighing he reached out and grasped Sting’s hand, relieved when his mate made no move to pull away and instead linked his fingers with his, and he squeezed them softly before adding. “It’s bad that I attacked them, but not worth lying about.”

“I couldn’t get through to you this time…” Sting’s voice was quiet, his usual boisterousness completely gone and Rogue stilled because that had never happened before. It took time, but Sting’s voice and his light had always been enough to break through the shadows. However, he frowned as the memory of the blazing white light and reaching hand flooded his mind, and he opened his mouth to point that out when Sting continued. “You were too far gone to hear my voice, so…so I….”

“Sting!”

“I bound your shadows…your magic…” It was barely a whisper, and for a moment all Rogue could hear was white noise. _Bound?_ Swallowing, he forced himself to take a deep breath before asking.

“Bound?”

“I locked them away with a holy seal...” Sting replied, which explained the white light he could remember, but not the hesitancy to his mate’s voice. It was bad, and, to be honest, he hated the thought of not being able to access his magic, because as much as he feared his shadows, he loved his magic. He loved the magic that Skiadrum had taught him. Blue eyes met his for a moment before Sting’s gaze skittered to the side. “But, they were still out of control when I sealed them, so if I remove the seal…”

“You’ll unleash them all over again…” Rogue finished for him, paling as comprehension dawned. _I’ll be a monster all over again…_ He dropped Sting’s hand as though burnt, huddling on himself and he knew that if he had been able to access his magic right then, the shadows would have been growing darker around them. _I could hurt him…_

“It just means that we’ll need to find somewhere nice and quiet so that you can’t do any damage,” Sting said urgently, reaching out to grab both of Rogue’s hands, squeezing tightly until the Shadow mage took a shuddering breath and met his gaze. “We just need to wait until you’re healed and then…”

“No.”

“Rogue?” Sting looked stunned at the quiet refusal. “What do you mean?”

    Rogue looked down at their linked hands, feeling his mate’s warmth and tears trickled down his cheeks. He had spoken automatically, but as he stared at their hands, he knew that he had meant it. He hated the thought of not being able to use his magic, but the thought of losing it was far less terrifying than the thought of losing control again. Sure they could find a quiet area where he could let loose, but Sting would be there. It would be Sting fighting to bring him back, and it would be Sting that he hurt if he went too far into the darkness. He sniffled slightly, unable to hide how much the decision hurt, but there was no hesitation in either his gaze or voice as he looked up at the other Dragon-slayer.

“We’re not going to release it…”

 


End file.
